Friedland - Germany

Friedland - Germany

A town located in the Oder-Spree district, in eastern Brandenburg. It covers the area from the Schlaube River Valley to Schwielochsee and Spree Lakes. Friedland was an old settlement of the Slavic Lusatian Sorbs. The town was first mentioned in chronicles between 1235 and 1350. The town was under Czech and Saxon reign. In the 16th century it was bought by the Order of St. John.

The town suffered several great fires in the years 1611, 1623 (when the castle burned down), 1687, 1721, 1723, 1882, and in 1843 when Friedland was almost completely destroyed.The Friedland Castle is also an interesting monument of history distinguishing the picturesque town. It was built in its present shape in 1658. The castle and its numerous exhibitions can be visited daily. Tourists are also very interested in old country churches located in the neighbouring towns belonging to the administrative area of Friedland.The beautiful landscape and clean unpolluted natural environment offer excellent conditions for tourism development. An ideal place for practising water sports is Schwielochsee which is 14 km long from the north to the south. Boat trips on the River Spree are also very popular among tourists. Cyclists may admire the beautiful landscape taking advantage of the well developed national and international cycling routes. One of these routes leads to the Neuzelle Monastery.Since 1 May 2005 Friedland has been a partner town of Sulęcin.